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*CR7* -Ronaldo always filling the shirt No.7? For how long has he been wearing it?

- BY FuadOluwaniyi

The Portuguese superstar has long been associated with the iconic No.7 for both club and country, let's takes a look at the origins of that choice

Cristano Ronaldo has become synonymous with the iconic No.7 shirt, first wearing the number in his Manchester United days and continuing the tradition during his time at Real Madrid and, now, Juventus.

The Portuguese superstar – also known as CR7 – has turned his name and digit into an international brand, and it's hard to remember that he was ever associated with another number.

Why does Ronaldo wear No.7?

Ronaldo has long been associated with the number 7, which has also helped him create the global brand of 'CR7'.

Though the Portuguese striker has become synonymous with the number, it wasn't his favoured shirt of choice until he arrived at Manchester United.

He wore the No.28 during his time at Sporting and it was only when he signed for the Red Devils in 2004, when then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to take the iconic shirt due to his belief that Ronaldo would be able to reach the same heights as those who had previously worn the number, that a new era was opened.

The striker arrived at Old Trafford asking to wear his favoured choice of 28, but Ferguson talked him into taking the seven jersey that was worn by such greats as David Beckham, George Best and Eric Cantona.

Sure enough, Ronaldo set the Premier League on fire, ravaging opposition defences, and it was in England where he won his first Ballon d'Or award in 2008 after scoring 42 goals in a single season.

When he moved to Real Madrid in 2009, he wore No.9 until the No.7 shirt was vacated by the legendary Raul who left to play for Schalke.

Since then, Ronaldo's No.7 shirt has become iconic, and the striker even took the number from Juan Cuadrado following his switch to Juventus earlier on in the summer. Cuadrado now wears No.16.

He has also worn the No.7 shirt on Portugal national team duty, first wearing the No.17 when playing alongside the legendary Figo in the 2004 European Championships.

After Figo retired, however, Ronaldo once again claimed the talismanic No.7.

Football aside, the number 7 has long been associated with luck and fortune.

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Kick Off: Juve win on Ronaldo debut; Chelsea defeat Arsenal; Messi inspires Barca victory

Sparksurf / Fuad Oluwaniyi

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Sparksurf / Fuad Oluwaniyi

Years pass by for people and they get older but Lionel Messi gives the sensation that he has not been affected as aside from not having quite as much pace as his early years he has been able to compensate that with more intelligent play.

Another season and the Argentine continues to be the central figure at Barcelona, he organises play, provides assists and of course scores goals. He is the first player that has scored in 15 consecutive championships in the 21st century.

It was nine years since it was he who broke the 5,000 goal barrier for Barcelona in the Primera and yesterday he got the 6,000th with record books full of statistics from the Rosario born player.

Against Alaves he got the opening goal with a free-kick that he put underneath the wall and after Coutinho added to the scoring, it was Messi again to take the total to 6,002 with 385 coming from the player.

It means that 6.5% of the goals by Barcelona in their history have been scored by the 31 year old.

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